In a disastrous move to entice the “ethnic” vote, Conservative party mayoral candidate for London Zac Goldsmith sent a mailshot to thousands of Sikh voters showcasing his bond with Indian PM Modi.

In what can only be described as an ill-informed and arrogant mailshot, Goldsmith’s team targeted the postal addresses of tens of thousands of Londoners of “Indian” origin.

Mailed Flyer

Zac Goldsmith’s mailshot was personally addressed to each householder and also reached the homes of the 120,000 Sikhs living in London. For some bizarre reason, Goldsmith assumed all the 120,000 Sikhs were middle-class Hindus, running family businesses, concerned about burglaries and possessions whilst welcoming to Modi’s UK visit last year.

The Conservative party have been accused in the past of being detached from the real people and being run by the eccentric elites of the UK entwined in traditions of paternalism, imperialism and racism. In a bid to change that perception, the last 2 campaigns run by the Conservative party have attempted to connect with the ethnic votes.

To assume the London Sikhs are so easily satisfied to be targeted with the same narratives intended for middle-class Hindu voters still shows a poor understanding of the London ethnic landscape, particularly as Sikhs have contributed to London for over 100 years.

Sikhs in the UK launched the Sikh Manifesto during the 2015 UK General Election as a tool to communicate and connect the political institutes with Sikhs. Despite the nationwide circulation of the Sikh Manifesto, Politicians and their advisors continually fail to provide the correct approaches and dialogue with the Sikh Community.

In his campaign Zac Goldsmith has attempted to portray his rival Labour candidate Sadiq Khan as a community risk due to the Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn signing a House of Commons petition in 2013 to ban Modi visiting the UK.